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Floreana giant tortoise
Illustration of the shell
Conservation status
Extinct (1850)  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Suborder:	Cryptodira
Superfamily:	Testudinoidea
Family:	Testudinidae
Genus:	Chelonoidis
Species:	C. niger
Subspecies:	†C. n. niger
Trinomial name
†Chelonoidis niger niger (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)
Synonyms
Testudo nigra Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 Testudo elephantopus Harlan, 1826 Testudo californica Gray, 1831 Testudo planiceps Gray, 1854 Testudo galapagoensis Baur, 1889 Testudo elephantopus elephantopus Mertens & Wermuth, 1955 Testudo elephantopus galapagoensis Wermuth & Mertens, 1955 Geochelone elephantopus elephantopus Pritchard, 1967 Chelonoidis elephantopus elephantopus Obst, 1985 Geochelone elephantopus Ernst & Barbour, 1989 Geochelone nigra King & Burke, 1989 Chelonoidis nigra David, 1994 Chelonoidis nigra galapagoensis David, 1994 Chelonoidis niger Olson & David, 2014

The Floreana giant tortoise (Chelonoidis niger niger), also known as the Charles Island giant tortoise, is an extinct subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise endemic to the Galápagos archipelago in the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean. The specific epithet niger (‘black’) probably refers to the colouration of the holotype specimen. The species name has often been misspelled as nigra, an error introduced in the 1980s when Chelonoidis was elevated to genus and mistakenly treated as feminine, an error recognized and fixed in 2017.

Although considered extinct as a pure population, hybrids still exist from an introduced population on Isabella Island, which have been used to breed genetically-similar tortoise hatchlings that will be reintroduced to Floreana.

Taxonomy

This tortoise is a member of Chelonoidis niger, comprising all Galápagos tortoise subspecies, of which it is the nominate form.

Description

Male tortoises grew to about 138 cm and females to 88 cm in length, with strongly saddlebacked carapaces.

Behaviour

The tortoises used to descend to the lower slopes of their volcanic island to graze on new vegetation after wet season rains. They fed on grass, bitterbush and cacti, obtaining water from springs and from cracks in the lava rocks.

Distribution and habitat

The tortoise's natural range was limited to 173 km Floreana Island (formerly Charles Island) where it inhabited deciduous and evergreen forests.

Conservation

The tortoise population of Floreana is estimated to have originally comprised some 8,000 individuals. Extinction occurred during the 1840s or 1850s following overexploitation for food by sailors and settlers, as well as predation and habitat degradation from introduced species, including goats, pigs, dogs, cats, donkeys, and rodents. Also blamed for the extinction was a massive wildfire on Floreana in 1820, initially started as a prank by Thomas Chappel, a crewman on the whaling ship Essex (best known for being sunk by a sperm whale shortly afterwards, inspiring the novel Moby-Dick). By the time Charles Darwin arrived in 1835, decades of exploitation had driven the population to critically low levels, with Darwin recording that about 20 years worth of harvestable tortoises were left. The tortoises finally disappeared around 1850.

In 2012, several hybrids between this species and Chelonoidis becki were discovered around Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island, apparently from some of the Floreana tortoises being transported there in the early 19th century. In 2017, a breeding program began to resurrect the Floreana subspecies. By 2023, about 400 Floreana tortoise offspring had been produced from the breeding program, and there are plans to reintroduce some of these to Floreana in 2024, as part of a rewilding program following the successful removal of invasive species from the island in December 2023.

References

1. van Dijk, P.P., Rhodin, A.G.J., Cayot, L.J. & Caccone, A. (2017). "Floreana Giant Tortoise". Red List. IUCN. Retrieved 30 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
2. ^ Arteaga, A; Bustamante, L; Vieira, J; Guayasamin, JM (2020). Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Quito: Universidad Tecnológica Indoamereica.
3. Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2017). Turtles of the world : Annotated checklist and atlas of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status (8th Ed.) (PDF). New York: Chelonian Research Foundation. ISBN 978-1-5323-5560-8. OCLC 1124067380.
4. ^ Miller, Joshua M.; Quinzin, Maud C.; Poulakakis, Nikos; Gibbs, James P.; Beheregaray, Luciano B.; Garrick, Ryan C.; Russello, Michael A.; Ciofi, Claudio; Edwards, Danielle L.; Hunter, Elizabeth A.; Tapia, Washington; Rueda, Danny; Carrión, Jorge; Valdivieso, Andrés A.; Caccone, Adalgisa (2017-09-13). "Identification of Genetically Important Individuals of the Rediscovered Floreana Galápagos Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis elephantopus) Provides Founders for Species Restoration Program". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 11471. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-11516-2. hdl:2158/1116383. ISSN 2045-2322.
5. "Chelonoidis niger (QUOY & GAIMARD, 1824)". Reptile Database. Peter Uetz and Jakob Hallermann. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
6. Conrad, Cyler. "Moby-Dick and the Galápagos Tortoises". Scientific American. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
7. Philbrick, Nathaniel (2001). In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-100182-8. OCLC 46949818.
8. Nicholls, Henry (2024-04-12). "The return of the Floreana giant tortoise". Galapagos Conservation Trust. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
9. Garrick, Ryan C.; Benavides, Edgar; Russello, Michael A.; Gibbs, James P.; Poulakakis, Nikos; Dion, Kirstin B.; Hyseni, Chaz; Kajdacsi, Brittney; Márquez, Lady; Bahan, Sarah; Ciofi, Claudio; Tapia, Washington; Caccone, Adalgisa (2012). "Genetic rediscovery of an 'extinct' Galápagos giant tortoise species". Current Biology. 22 (1): R10–R11. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.12.004. ISSN 0960-9822.
10. Conservation, Island (2023-10-17). "12 missing species set to return to Floreana, Galápagos". Island Conservation. Retrieved 2024-06-13.

v t e Tortoise family
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Subclass: Anapsida Order: Testudines Suborder: Cryptodira Superfamily: Testudinoidea Family: Testudinidae
Genera	Species of the tortoise family
Agrionemys	Russian tortoise
Aldabrachelys	Aldabra giant tortoise (subspecies: A. g. arnoldi †A. g. daudinii A. g. hololissa) †Aldabrachelys abrupta †Aldabrachelys grandidieri
Astrochelys	Angonoka tortoise Radiated tortoise †Astrochelys rogerbouri
Centrochelys	African spurred tortoise †Centrochelys atlantica †Centrochelys burchardi †Centrochelys vulcanica
Chelonoidis	Chaco tortoise Red-footed tortoise Yellow-footed tortoise †Chelonoidis alburyorum †Chelonoidis cubensis †Chelonoidis lutzae †Chelonoidis monensis †Chelonoidis sellovii †Chelonoidis sombrerensis
Galápagos tortoise Chelonoidis complex	Cerro Azul giant tortoise Chatham Island giant tortoise Eastern Santa Cruz tortoise Fernandina Island tortoise †Floreana Island tortoise Hood Island giant tortoise (Diego) Santa Fe Island tortoise †Pinta Island tortoise †(Lonesome George) Santiago Island giant tortoise Pinzón Island giant tortoise Sierra Negra giant tortoise Volcán Alcedo giant tortoise Volcán Darwin giant tortoise Volcán Wolf giant tortoise Western Santa Cruz tortoise
†Cheirogaster	†Cheirogaster bacharidisi †Cheirogaster gymnesica †Cheirogaster schafferi
Chersina	Angulate tortoise
Chersobius	Nama padloper Karoo padloper Speckled padloper
†Cylindraspis	†Domed Mauritius giant tortoise †Domed Rodrigues giant tortoise †Réunion giant tortoise †Saddle-backed Mauritius giant tortoise †Saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise
Geochelone	Burmese star tortoise Indian star tortoise
Gopherus	Bolson tortoise Desert tortoise Goode's thornscrub tortoise Gopher tortoise Sonoran Desert tortoise Texas tortoise
†Hadrianus	†Hadrianus corsoni †Hadrianus majusculus †Hadrianus octonaria †Hadrianus robustus †Hadrianus schucherti †Hadrianus utahensis †Hadrianus vialovi
†Hesperotestudo	†Hesperotestudo percrassa
Homopus	Common padloper Greater padloper
Indotestudo	Elongated tortoise Forsten's tortoise Travancore tortoise
Kinixys	Bell's hinge-back tortoise Forest hinge-back tortoise Home's hinge-back tortoise Lobatse hinge-back tortoise Natal hinge-back tortoise Speke's hinge-back tortoise
Malacochersus	Pancake tortoise
Manouria	Asian forest tortoise Impressed tortoise
†Megalochelys	†Megalochelys atlas †Megalochelys cautleyi †Megalochelys margae †Megalochelys sondaari
Psammobates	Geometric tortoise Serrated tortoise Tent tortoise
Pyxis	Flat-backed spider tortoise Spider tortoise
Stigmochelys	Leopard tortoise
†Stylemys	†Stylemys botti †Stylemys calaverensis †Stylemys canetotiana †Stylemys capax †Stylemys conspecta †Stylemys copei †Stylemys emiliae †Stylemys frizaciana †Stylemys karakolensis †Stylemys nebrascensis †Stylemys neglectus †Stylemys oregonensis †Stylemys pygmea †Stylemys uintensis †Stylemys undabuna
Testudo	Hermann's tortoise Kleinmann's tortoise Marginated tortoise Spur-thighed tortoise †Testudo brevitesta
Phylogenetic arrangement of turtles based on turtles of the world 2017 update: Annotated checklist and atlas of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution, and conservation status. Key: †=extinct.

• IUCN Red List extinct species
• Chelonoidis
• Subspecies
• Turtles of South America
• Endemic reptiles of the Galápagos Islands
• Reptiles of Ecuador
• Taxa named by Jean René Constant Quoy
• Taxa named by Joseph Paul Gaimard
• Reptiles described in 1824
• Extinct turtles
• Extinct animals of South America
• Reptile extinctions since 1500
• Species that are or were threatened by use as food
• Species that are or were threatened by deliberate fires